


Before It's Over

by thephantomheart



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Based on the musical, Dogfight AU, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, I'm sure it applies to the movie too but i never saw it, also butch and his friends are AWFUL that's just the nature of the plot im sorry, in which the lone wanderer and Butch are Rose and Eddie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23577274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thephantomheart/pseuds/thephantomheart
Summary: Rose cannot believe her ears when Butch, out of nowhere, asks her to be his date to Susie's birthday party. She thinks it's too good to be true, and she might be right.Plot heavily inspired by the musical Dogfight by Pasek and Paul. Beautiful soundtrack, highly recommend.Warning: I tend to play fast and loose with universe rules, so if you're a stickler for correct ages and timelines and the like, you may want to give this one a miss.
Relationships: Amata Almodovar/Paul Hannon Jr., Butch DeLoria/Female Lone Wanderer, Butch DeLoria/Lone Wanderer
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Prologue

“King, I got a job for ya. Come see me when you got a sec.”

“Yeah, yeah, will do,” Rose said absently, not looking up from her tinkering. Her rifle had broken _again_ and needed some urgent care, but more importantly, she needed a distraction from the events of the past week. She refused to think for too long about it, lest that horrible pain twist itself into her gut and make her cry. When she’d lost her mother, she wasn’t even an hour old. She didn’t have to learn how to deal with the loss of a parent she’d never met, and now, she felt lost. For the first time since leaving the vault, she truly had no direction, no goal. She just had to adjust herself to this completely new life and try not to let it break her.

_Maybe just one drink_ , she thought to herself. Her merc work, as she called it, could wait until later. Sighing, she left her rifle on the bed and locked her door behind her. Buying a room in Rivet City hadn’t been a bad idea at all; though the place was far from homely, it was safe. With all its guards and metal walls it was the one place she didn’t feel like she had to watch her back at every step, though that didn’t stop her from keeping her pistol holstered securely at her hip.

Rose kept her head low as she walked into the bar, not wanting to welcome idle conversation while her head was so full, and sat down, not even making eye contact with the bartender.

“Can I just get-”

“ _Rose?”_

She blinked, and turned. Sitting right next to her, so close she was amazed she hadn’t already noticed the smell of leather and hair pomade, was Butch DeLoria, eyes like saucers and the cigarette in his hand completely forgotten.

So much for not wanting to think about the past.


	2. Come To A Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose is approached with a very strange proposal from the person she least expected, and despite her shock, she can't bring herself to say no.

Rose eyed Amata carefully as she wiped the surface of the counter. She’d been staring off into the distance for the past two minutes or so, with an expression that for the first time, Rose was finding difficult to read.

“I still can’t believe your dad let me help out around here for a few extra rations,” she tested.

“Yeah,” Amata replied, barely registering.

“He and I really get along, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

“My mom said the same thing the other day.”

“Yeah,” Amata murmured, before her head snapped to Rose and she furrowed her brow. “Wait, what?”

“Welcome back,” Rose laughed, shoving Amata lightly, who rolled her eyes but laughed anyway. “Whatcha daydreaming about?”

“Do you think they’re up to something?” Amata asked suddenly, glancing over at the table on the far side of the diner. Rose followed her line of sight and her eyes landed on the most _annoying_ group of people she’d ever had the displeasure of meeting. The Tunnel Snakes. She was about to shrug, when suddenly Butch and Paul burst into laughter, while Wally talked animatedly, only just too quiet for Rose to properly eavesdrop.

“Huh,” she said, voice a little lower now. “Yeah, I think you’re right. They are _way_ too excited about something. Why do you ask? They’re usually up to something.”

“Promise you won’t be mad.” Amata suddenly looked bashful, and Rose’s eyebrows shot up. She nodded for her to continue. “Paul asked me to a party. Tonight.”

“ _What?”_ Rose gawped. Amata only nodded, and Rose gesticulated wildly for her to explain, finding herself at a loss for words.

“I really don’t know. There’s some party happening tonight, they’re all looking for dates, and this morning we ran into each other in the hallway, and… he asked me.”

“God, none of us are safe, are we?” Rose lamented.

“Hey, Paul isn’t that bad. Not next to Wally and Butch, anyways. He’s actually quite… sweet.”

“Yeah, a broken nose is _sweet_ next to a gunshot to the face, so what?” Rose shot back, making Amata snort.

“You know, you could probably go, too. I could ask Paul-”

“Absolutely _not_ ,” Rose said quickly. Then she hesitated. “If you need me there, though…”

“I’ll be fine, _Mom_ ,” Amata laughed, and Rose chuckled slightly.

“Okay,” she said, holding her hands up in mock defence. “As long as you’ll be fine on your own with those tools, I do _not_ need to be there.”

“Fine, fine. It’s suspicious, for sure, but I really think they might be growing up a little.” As Amata spoke, Rose had been taking a sip of Nuka Cola, which she promptly choked on. Wally’s head whipped up, and as their eyes met, Rose felt that sense of dread in her stomach. She fought hard not to cough anymore and tore her gaze away to look back at Amata. Paul? Sure, she could see him maturing. Butch… maybe. _Hard_ maybe, if he grew up a _lot_. Wally, though, had no chance of redemption in Rose’s eyes. Amata sighed dejectedly. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Rose suddenly felt a pang of guilt and she placed her hand reassuringly on her friend’s arm. “I think you could be right about Paul. _Just_ Paul. But if he’s into you, the others will probably leave you be.”

“Hm… maybe. Guy code, and all that.” Amata looked at her Pip-Boy and her eyes widened a fraction. “ _Shit_ , I need to go start getting ready, or I’m gonna be late.”

“Really? It’s only five, what time does this thing start?”

“Seven.”

“You really need _two hours_?” Rose said incredulously as Amata gathered some bottles to take to the trash on her way out.

“I got some prep to do, what can I say?” she winked. “Okay, I’ll see you… tomorrow, I guess?”

“Yeah, have fun,” Rose grinned, and Amata began to walk away. “Be careful!”

“Always am,” she called over her shoulder as she walked towards Paul, her newfound crush seeming to make her a little more fearless than usual. Rose had no doubt Amata could hold her own at this age, but still, she watched like a hawk, pretending to busy herself with wiping the already-spotless counter.

She couldn’t hear what was being said, but she studied Butch and Wally, unable to see Paul’s face from this angle, and they seemed… extraordinarily non-confrontational. They were all getting up to leave, and everything seemed fine. Just as Rose was about to concede that she was overreacting and go back to actually cleaning, Butch looked up at her.

As soon as they locked eyes, she gave him a stern look that said _You better not even think about it_ , but he didn’t seem to react. In fact, he seemed a little lost in thought. Weirded out, but with more important things to think about, she turned away to rummage in the cupboard for the broom that she _knew_ she’d put there. When she turned around again, broom in hand, he was standing right in front of her.

“Shit, Butch!” she yelped, nearly dropping the broom. He cackled for a moment, and then seemed to catch himself and stopped, like a child caught doing something he knew he shouldn’t. Rose raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

“Uh, yeah, actually,” he said, taking a pause.

“I don’t have the energy for your dramatics right now, Butch,” Rose sighed, stepping around him to start sweeping behind the counter. “Whatever hilarious insults you’ve got prepared, spit ‘em out and move out of my way.”

“Jesus, did ya wake up on the wrong side of the bed or somethin’?” he asked.

She paused her sweeping to roll her eyes. “ _Or somethin’._ ” She shot back sarcastically.

“You always expect the worst from me,” he said, hand on heart, feigning offence. Realising she wasn’t picking up on his banter, he dropped his hand and lifted himself onto the counter.

“I just cleaned that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Listen, there’s a party in here tonight.”

“I heard,” Rose said, stopping and leaning on the broom. If he wanted to have a conversation, they could have a conversation, but she needed to be alert and ready to punch him in the nose at all times. “How did you manage that? Diner’s almost impossible to get a hold of nowadays.”

He shrugged. “It was Susie’s birthday last week, remember? Overseer can’t deny her a proper party for her eighteenth.”

“Right. I guess I assumed you guys had already done something for that.” Butch shook his head and then there was a silence. Rose couldn’t stand the weirdness of it all. “Is there a reason you came to tell me that, or are you just bragging about how much mess I’ll have to clean up tomorrow?”

“God, no, I just – ugh!” That usual Butch brand of irritation was back in his voice, and it almost made Rose breathe a sigh of relief. _There’s the Butch I know_. “Not everything’s an attack, you know.”

Rose laughed dryly. “Jeez, sorry! Excuse me for assuming the Tunnel Snakes wanna fuck me over a little bit. You’ve never done that before, have you?”

Butch took a sharp breath in like he was about to yell at her, but all that came out was a murmur. Rose _thought_ she understood, but there was no way. He didn’t say that.

“What did you say?” she asked, frozen. He rolled his eyes again.

“I _said_ , do you wanna go with me?” It was a nice enough question, but he sounded _pained_.

“Jesus, DeLoria, if you’re gonna do that whole prank, you gotta make it a little bit convincing,” Rose chuckled. She moved past him to start sweeping the diner floor.

“No!” he said quickly. “This… isn’t that.” Rose spun to look at him, _really_ look at him, and noticed how flushed he was. He made eye contact for a fleeting moment, but broke it to stare at the counter instead. _Jesus Christ, is Butch DeLoria asking me on a date?_

“You can see why I find this strange, right?” She started to wonder if maybe he wasn’t feeling so well. Was he getting a fever or something? She suddenly found herself trying to figure out the logistics of how she would carry him back to Mrs DeLoria if he passed out on the diner floor.

“Nosebleed – I mean, _Rose,_ ” he said, sounding _exactly_ like he had when Mr Brotch had forced him to apologise ( _“Nicely, Butch!”_ ) for sticking gum in her hair. “If you don’t wanna go, just say so.”

That caught her off guard. If this was a prank, she expected a little more fight. “No,” she said quickly, without really thinking. He looked at her with mild surprise. “No, it’s not that.”

“So, what is it?”

“Come on, Butch. You know.” She shifted uncomfortably and looked at the floor, not enjoying this heartfelt conversation with someone with whom she did _not_ get along. “I’m not exactly gonna have many friends at that party.”

“Doesn’t matter. When you’re with Butch, you’re off-limits,” he said confidently, beginning to slip back into his usual cocky demeanour. “Besides, Amata will be there.”

“Yeah,” she mused. _Fuck it._ “Okay, yeah, I’ll go with you.”

“You will?” he said with what Rose would have normally said was relief, but she struggled to find a plausible reason as to why he was so happy that she’d accepted his out-of-the-blue offer. She wasn’t even sure why she’d said yes. Maybe she was just too confused to think straight.

_Well, too late to back out now. Well done, Rose,_ she mentally scolded herself.

“Sure?” she said. It sounded more like a question than an answer. “Save you the embarrassment of going without a date.”

“Hey, if the Butch-man wants to go alone, he goes alone,” he said sharply, getting down from the counter. Rose raised an eyebrow and he cleared his throat. “But yeah, uh… you’re doin’ me a real solid here, Nosebleed – uh, Rose.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she laughed. “You haven’t said my name in _years_.”

“Well, maybe it’s time I started.” They stared at each other for a moment. Rose had no idea what to say. “Uh, I’ll come get you at 7?”

“Sure,” she said, dumbfounded. He gave her that cocky smirk, turned on his heel, and walked out. Rose stared after him, wondering what the hell had just happened.


End file.
